Kilifi Deputy Governor Gideon Saburi's case has been delayed after the prosecution failed to provide adequate evidence in court on Tuesday, May 5.
The prosecution team led by Senior Counsel Edgar Mulamala applied for more time to conclude investigations on the case.
Saburi was first charged on April 9, 2020, for willfully presenting himself in a public place despite an order by the national government to self-isolate after he had travelled abroad. He was accused of exposing members of the public to an infectious disease, risking lives.
Mulamala argued that they had been denied sufficient time to conclude their investigations by the partial lockdown and the dusk-to-dawn curfew. Mulamala stated that the lockdown had hampered free movement between Mombasa and Kilifi impeding investigations.
Resident Magistrate Christine Ogweno granted the application, slotting the hearing for June 4, 2020.
Saburi's defence argued before the court that the prosecution had taken long to wind-up investigations.
They also demanded that samples presented for testing to Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) on March 18, 2020, be availed in court. Saburi's lawyer, Senior Counsel George Kithi, asked that the prosecution team provide accurate documentation confirming samples were sent to KEMRI, and testing conducted.
Kithi also demanded that a list of the reagents employed in the testing of the samples be provided as well.
Saburi on Wednesday, April 15, 2020, denied ever having contracted the Covid-19 virus and willfully exposing Kenyans. His lawyer, Kithi had argued in a Mombasa court that he was not a carrier of the virus and that the state had no grounds to detain him.
The accused claimed that he never submitted samples for testing to Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) that were used to declare him Covid-19 positive,
Kithi had pointed out that when Saburi was tested at the Coast Provincial General Hospital (CPGH), the results came back negative.
“Your honour, we can confirm that my client did not submit any samples to KEMRI, which diagnosed him with Covid-19. Tests conducted on my client at the Coast Provincial General Hospital (CPGH) two days later showed that he was Covid-19 negative.
“Your honour, miracles do happen, but, in my client’s case, how would you explain this: his samples tested by KEMRI [on the first occasion], indicated he was Covid-19 positive, then two days later, another test by CPGH confirms him to be coronavirus negative?” Kithi questioned then.
Saburi was released on April 16, 2020, on a Ksh200,000 cash bail or alternative of Ksh500,000 bond and ordered to self-quarantine for 14 days.
The judge ruled that the DG was to be set free because it was his constitutional right and that he had also been released by the hospital after testing negative for Covid-19.
